Mountain gorillas: the complete guide

Quick facts

Where they live

One population lives in the Virunga massif, a chain of volcanoes shared by Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The other lives in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in south-west Uganda.

Family life

A gorilla group is led by a dominant adult male, called a silverback after the grey hair on his back. He protects the group and decides where it moves each day. Females give birth to a single infant after a pregnancy of about eight and a half months, and young gorillas stay close to their mothers for years. Each night the group builds simple nests of leaves.

What they eat

Gorillas are mostly vegetarian. They eat leaves, stems, bamboo shoots and fruit when it is in season, and they sometimes eat insects. A large adult male can eat many kilograms of vegetation in a day.

Conservation: a recovery story

Poaching, habitat loss and disease cut mountain gorilla numbers to fewer than 300 in the early 1980s. Careful protection, anti-poaching patrols, veterinary care and tourism income have helped the population recover to just over 1,000, so the species is now listed as Endangered instead of Critically Endangered. Your permit helps fund this work, and the rules on a trek protect the gorillas from human illness.

See them for yourself

Read our gorilla trekking guide, compare Uganda and Rwanda, then ask us to check your dates.

Frequently asked questions